Mr.
Freiberg is a native of this country, having been born in
Wisconsin, November 12, 1868, to Fred and Henrietta Freiberg, who
had come from Germany only a few years before, in 1866. They had
lived in Wisconsin for three years following their arrival in
America. They had then come to Stanton county and filed on a
homestead there. The subscriber was born in the log house which
they erected on their homestead, and his early years were spent
there.
At this time, the country presented
a very different aspect from the present time. Deer and antelope
were plentiful enough in those days for the early settler to
depend on them for a good share of the fresh meat for his
family.
There were many drawbacks, however,
owing to the distance from any market, and various misfortunes
which afflicted them. The first few years in the new country saw
the crops fail because of the plagues of grasshoppers which
descended upon the land and literally devoured every green thing.
Prairie fires, while not exactly of common occurrence, were yet
possibilities which had to be taken into consideration, while in
the cold weather, there was the dreaded blizzard to be feared.
In 1891, Mr Freiberg married Miss
Ida Mass, of this county, and five years later, he brought his
little family to the farm he had just purchased, in section
twenty-four, township twenty-three, range one, east, which is
still their home.
At first, like many other farmers,
Mr: Freiberg gave his whole attention merely to grain-raising, but
later decided to go into stock raising, and the results have
justified his decision, as he has met with great success. He is
well-known throughout this section of the country as a most
progressive farmer, and an upright citizen. His integrity and
strong character have gained him friends among all with whom he
has come into contact.
Mr. and Mrs. Freiberg have three
children, Walter, Ervin and Agnes. The family hold a very
prominent place in the social life of the community and are highly
esteemed by all.

JOSEPH PATROS.

Prominent
among the leading old settlers of Antelope county, Nebraska, the
gentleman whose name heads this personal history is entitled to a
foremost place. Mr. Patros is a man of active public spirit,
always lending his aid and influence for the bettering of
conditions in his community, and has served his district in the
capacity as a school director for many years. Mr. Patros resides
in section fifteen, township twenty-six, range eight, where he has
a pleasant home and valuable estate.
Mr. Patros is a native of the state
of Illinois, born near Chebanse in 1855. His father, F. X. Patros
was a French Canadian, born in Canada, in 1820, and died in the
year of 1908; his mother, Louis (Cote) Patros, was also born in
Canada, and died in Illinois. In the year of 1869 the Patros
family with six other families, and seven teams started from
Illinois and came to Nebraska by the way of Omaha, and after four
weeks on the road, located in section twenty-one, township
twenty-six, range eight. Joseph Patros in 1880, took a homestead
in section fifteen, township twenty-six, range eight, where he
began operations for himself at the age of twenty-five. When the
Patros family first arrived Antelope county was almost a
wilderness. Deer and antelope were plentiful. There were but a
very few settlers here, and the Indians camped along the Elk Horn
river, and the pioneers experienced many dangers and frights from
the redskins. On two occasions horses were stolen by the Indians,
the first time on March 4, 1870, the horse's being found at Fort
Randall; and again on March 4, 1874, when the animals were located
at Fort Thompson. The nearest post-office was at Norfolk, fifty
miles distant, and. they hauled their grain by wagon to Wisner or
Columbus. Another danger they had to encounter on the old frontier
was that of prairie fire, which the family had to fight many times
to save their lives and home. In 1878 at the time of the big
prairie fire Mr. Patros was returning home from Beaver Creek,
forty-five miles away where he had gone to summons a doctor and on
his way home was overtaken by the fire and had to ride for his
life, being fortunate to find a place that had been previously
burned; he stopped, the fire jumped over him and swept on leaving
Mr. Patros to continue his journey in safety.
Mr. Patros relates that in the
blizzard of 1873 the snow fell so thick that it stopped the
current in the Elk Horn river and that the strong wind whipped the
snow that had mixed with the water in the river up onto the banks
in drifts about forty feet high and left the bed of the river
comparatively dry. The drifts throughout the country were packed
so solidly by the wind that teams of horses could be driven over
them higher than the tree tops. One old neighbor, Joseph Duncan,
and his wife, were "snowed in" in their house until next day the
snow having drifted until it completely covered the house. The
lamp that was burning in the house went out for lack of good air,
and Mr. Duncan and wife were all but suffocated when rescued by
Mr. Patros and Mr. Andy Duggan who happened to think of the
possible danger of the two old people. Mr. Patros and Mr. Duggan
brought shovels, dug through a snow bank thirty feet deep to Mr.
Dinican's door where they rescued the old people.
Joseph Patros was united in marriage
in 1883 to Miss Georgia Eastman, and Mr. and Mrs. Patros are the
parents of five children, named as follows: Violet, who is now
Mrs. John Bowers, she having one child; Virginia, wife of Mr.
Robert Brwning [sic], and has two children; Hazel, who is
the wife of Mr. Dewitt Gunter, and has one child;

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333

Leo, who attends
business college at York; and Ida, deceased in 1886. Mr. Patros is
a populist politically and was brought up in the Roman Catholic
faith.

AUGUST HAPPEL.

August
Happel, a retired farmer, resides in Plainview, Nebraska. He is a
native son of Nebraska, and has spent his entire life in the
"Cornhusker" state. His father, Jacob Happel, was born in the
Province of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, coming to America when a
young man and residing for the first few years after landing in
the new world at Quincy, Illinois. He came to Nebraska in 1870,
settled in Washington county, and married there. He took up land
eighteen miles south of Blair, where he prospered to an extent
that enabled him to retire in 1907 from active farming and live in
comfort at Fremont. The mother, Miss Anna Finkhaus, was also a
native of Germany, emigrating with her parents, who settled in
Washington county when that part of the state was on the frontier.
August is the eldest of their four children; Jacob owns a fine
farm in Dodge county; Emma, the wife of Carl Bopp, lives in
Wyoming; and John, the youngest, cultivates the old home farm
eighteen miles south of Blair.
August Happel was born in Washington
county, May 19, 1875, and remained under the parental roof until
January, 1895, when he came to Knox county and for several years
rented farming land.
At this time he married and moved to
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which his father bought and
sold to the son, the purchase price being earned from the land in
five years, two thousand two hundred dollars of which was paid in
one season although prices were low. This required energy and
economy when eggs brought but four cents a dozen, butter from five
to eight cents a pound, and corn only eight and ten cents a bushel
- a drug on the market at that. On one occasion when a few pairs
of children's shoes and a few necessary groceries were needed, it
took two big loads of corn to settle the account. Great courage
was needed to remain on the land at that time, but the results
accomplished by those who fought the battle have been a rich
reward.
Mr. Happel owns the home farm of one
hundred and sixty-acres near Creighton, and four hundred and
eighty acres of fine grazing land in Cherry county.
Mr. Happel was married in Knox
county, March 5, 1897, to Miss Minnie Hilkemeier whom he had known
slightly in Washington county when they were children. She is a
native of Leippe-Detwold, whence her parents, Chris and Sophia
(Schauf) Hilkemeier, emigrated in 1882 by way of Bremen to New
York. Here they were detained for two weeks on Ellis Island, owing
to the illness of a son, and then came on to Nebraska.
Her father farmed near Arlington two
years, near Fontanelle the same length of time, and a like period
near Blair, before making permanent residence in Knox county, near
Creighton. Here on the frontier they suffered from privations,
sometimes barely escaping prairie fires. Mrs. Hilkemeier died May
21, 1911.
Mr. and Mrs. Happel are the parents
of four children: Annie, who died at the age of four years and
four months; John, Henry, and Emma.
They moved to Plainview in February,
1906, making that their home for a year or two, and then purchased
a farm near town. During the first year of his residence in
Plainview, Mr. Happel engaged in the dray business, and later
operated a corn sheller in the territory tributary to
Plainview.
Mr. Happel was too young to remember
much of the grasshopper plague in the early years of settlement,
but recalls that the pests foraged on his father's crops at one
time, for ten and one-half days. During the blizzard of January
12, 1888, he went three-quarters of a mile from home to bring the
children together with two neighbor girls, from school. His father
was out in this storm gathering in his stock and was probably kept
from being lost by the barking of a small dog who led the way
home. The recital of early hardships is little understood by the
young folks now growing up in comfort and ease.
Mr. Happel is a democrat, and a
member of, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

LUDWIG
KNOEPFEL.

Ludwig
Knoepfel was born in Germany in 1851. He came to America in 1881,
arriving in Howard county, Nebraska, August 1, of that year, and
the following month settled on a homestead on section six,
township fourteen, range twelve, occupying the place ever since
that time. Here he has gone through all the pioneer experiences,
continuously engaged in stock and grain raising, and now owns a
finely improved farm, and enjoys the esteem of his fellowmen.
Mr. Knoepfel was married in Germany
in 1877, to Elizabeth Kammer, and they have a fine family of six
children: Christian, William, Sophia, Albertina, Henry and Susan,
all married and settled in nice homes in and about Howard county,
with the exception of Henry, who is still single. Mrs. Knoepfel
died on the homestead on December 26, 1904, and her loss was
sincerely mourned by her devoted family and many friends.
In 1908, Mr. Knoepfel married Mrs.
Catherine Nehls, who is from a prominent pioneer family of Hall
county, coming to America with her parents when she was a child of
eight years of age, from Russia, but being of German
descent.

334

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

JOHN
KNOEPFEL.

John
Knoepfel, who for the past thirty-six years has resided in Howard
county, and during this time has acquired a fine property as a
result of his industry and good management, is widely known in
that locality and held in the highest esteem as a farmer and
citizen. He has a pleasant and comfortable home in Kelso precinct,
and is one of the prominent men of affairs in his community.
Mr. Knoepfel is a native of Germany,
born on September 28, 1847, and is a son of Henry and Eva
Knoepfel, the eighth in a family of nine children. His boyhood was
spent in that country, and he was married there in 1873, to Amelia
Meyer, they coming to America the following year.
Their first location here was in
Howard county, where they took a homestead on section fourteen,
township fourteen, range twelve, and proved up on a quarter
section of land,. which they have made their home farm up to the
present time. Mr. Knoepfel has his land under cultivation and
raises fine crops of grain, as well as being quite extensively
engaged in the stock business. He has erected fine modern
buildings on his farm, having a handsome residence, and is
enjoying to the full his present prosperity.
Mr. and Mrs. Knoepfel have an
interesting family of six children: Emma, Annie, Lizzie, Chris,
Martha and Dora, the last mentioned three living at home, while
the others are married, and with their families are settled in
comfortable homes in Howard county.

WILLIAM E.
BALIMAN.

William
E. Baliman, operator of a farm in section thirty-two, township
thirteen, range nine, situated in St. Libory precinct, known as
the Voorhes homestead farm, is also one of the prominent old
settlers of Howard county, Nebraska.
Mr. Baliman was born in Omaha,
Nebraska, on June 24, 1870. When he was but one year of age, his
parents, William H. and Mary (LaClair) Baliman, came into Howard
county, settling on a farm, where he grew up, receiving his early
education in the precinct schools, and later attending the high
school at Atkinson, Nebraska, for one year. After leaving school
he returned to his father's farm and assisted in carrying on the
work on the homestead until he was twenty-one years of age, when
he struck out for himself, following different vocations for a
number of years, spending some years as a teacher in the public
schools of his county. He then attended the Grand Island Business
college, taking up a commercial course, and after completing this,
returned to Howard county and located on a farm of his wife's
which he has succeeded in building up in fine shape. For a number
of years past he has been engaged in the poultry raising business,
principally, making a specialty of this branch, and has met with
decided success. He is constantly extending his operations, having
a fine flock, and continually building it up with the best blood
obtainable, and is recognized as an authority on all subjects
pertaining to the poultry business.
On October 30, 1895, Mr. Baliman was
married to Ada Voorhes, and to them have been born two children,
Vorha May and Zdith Jane. The family have a pleasant and
hospitable home, and are among the popular members of society in
their community, enjoying. a wide circle of friends. Mr. Baliman
is now serving as moderator of school district number
forty-one.

JOHN P.
McNICHOLS.

Among
the prominent business men of Atkinson, Nebraska, may be mentioned
John P. McNichols, who came to the state in 1883, and first
settled on a homestead three miles west of O'Neill, in November of
that year. Later he changed his claim to a pre-emption claim,
under which he acquired title to the land. Later he moved into
O'Neill and served five years as marshal, and after spending three
years in the livery business went to Omaha and worked two years at
the stock yards. In 1892 he located in Atkinson, and has since
been a merchant of that town. He also owns a bakery and
restaurant, as well as a meat market, and is successful in all
these enterprises. He is interested in various other lines and
conducts an extensive ice business, having three ice houses, which
he fills annually from ponds west of the city.
Mr. McNichols was born at Syracuse,
New York, June 7, 1857, a son of John and Mary McNichols, who
moved to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in the fall of the year in which
he was born. In 1868 the family moved to Butler county, Iowa, and
in 1875 to Story county in the same state, where the father lived
until 1884, when he secured a homestead four miles east of
O'Neill, Nebraska.
November 14, 1886, J. P. McNichols
married Miss Mary Wynn, a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a
daughter of James and Bridget Wynn, who came to Nebraska in 1878
and settled near the county seat of Holt county. Seven children
were born of this union: Genevieve has been a teacher in the
Atkinson schools since 1907; Francis, his father's business
assistant, is an active member of the Knights of Columbus and the
Modern Woodmen of America; Morris is also associated with his
father in business; Lucile, Lorinea, Helen and Moretta, are all in
school. Mr. McNichols is a democrat in politics and is a member of
the Catholic church. On another page of this volume will be found
a picture of Mr. McNichols and family.
At the time of the blizzard of
January 12, 1888, Mr. McNichols was at home and had hard work to
grope his way through the storm to bring

COMPENDIUM OF
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335

his children home from
school. For three years prior to coming to Holt county he was
employed in the mountains around Leadville, Colorado, and while in
that region often enjoyed the sport of hunting for big game, as
deer, elk and antelope were plentiful within a day's ride from
camp. he spent his time prospecting until his resources were
exhausted, then would work for a time in the mines until he had a
"grub stake" to enable him to continue with his prospecting. When
he first located in Nebraska he lived in a dugout and later
erected a log house, with "Nebraska shingles," sod. He was
acquainted with "Doc" Middleton, "Kid" Wade, and, other noted
rustlers of early days, and is able to relate many kind deeds
which were performed by these men, who were at that time social
outcasts, Mr. McNichols is one of the earlier settlers of the
county and is well known within its limits.

J. P. McNichols and
Family.

ALONZO O.
JENKINS.

Alonzo
O. Jenkins and wife have spent most of their lives in Valley
county, where they were reared and married, and where they now
have a fine dairy farm. They are surrounded by friends and
successful financially, and now look back with wonder at their
early years there amid pioneer surroundings. Both came there with
their parents and in childhood passed through the usual
adversities of life in a new country. Mr. Jenkins was born in
Montcalm county, Michigan, May 23, 1869, son of William F. and
Angeline (Campbell) lenicins. The father came overland to Valley
county front Michigan in the winter of 1879 and was one of the
early homesteaders of central Nebraska. he bought a stock of
Yankee notions to sell along the way and did not know his
destination when he left his old home in Michigan. Until the time
of his death, April 22, 1910, he was one or the progressive and
useful citizens of his portion of the state. The old home farm has
an orchard of forty acres and from this fact is known as the
Jenkins fruit farm, on which the mother still resides. She and her
son Alonzo came to Nebraska by rail to join the husband and father
in 1880, the year after he came to prepare a home. Their early
days were times of hardship and privation, and Alonzo still well
remembers when the old coffee mill owned by a neighbor was used to
grind grain into meal for the family, and for the use of it the
early settlers paid a toll of one cup in every ten of ground meal.
His first shelter was two sheets fastened to a pole in the form of
a tent. A neighbor whom he did not know excited his suspicion by
praising his best horse. He feared the neighbor might be the
notorious Doc Middleton, and he called attention to the excellence
of his Winchester. The visitor proved to be the Rev. Phillip
Meeker, his son's future father-in-law. He built a large sod house
and in it kept a hotel, sometimes having even the entire floor
covered with sleepers, and one time stored the last one on a
table, there being no more room on the floor.
March 4, 1888, Mr. Jenkins was
married to Helen Meeker, daughter of Rev. Phillip and Alma (Wing)
Meeker, one of their six children, all of whom now survive save
one, although Mrs. Jenkins is the only one of the family residing
in Nebraska. Her parents were pioneers of Nebraska, and both are
now deceased. The mother died on the Meeker homestead in Valley
county in 1885, and the father removed in 1891 to Oregon, where
his death occurred in 1901.
Mr. Jenkins has looked out for
himself since he reached the age of eighteen years. In 1894 he
attended college in Lincoln, and in 1895 became manager of College
View Lumber yard. He worked for a year as wholesale agent for the
M. L. Trestor Coal yard at Lincoln, after which for flve years he
was engaged in the same business on his own account in Lincoln. He
and his wife then returned to their former home and located on a
farm on section twenty-eight, township seventeen, range sixteen,
two miles southwest of Arcadia, where he is engaged in farming,
stock-raising and dairying. They have three children: Mildred,
wife of Albert Dyrea, of Arcadia, has one child; Angeline and Ruth
at home.
Mr. Jenkins has a vivid recollection
of the blizzard of January 12, 1888; seeing it coming he ran from
school home, reaching it in safety. The rest of the scholars,
remained with the teacher at a near neighbor's through the night.
He remembers the three days' storm in October, 1888, that began
the winter of the deep snow, and the flood of the following
spring, when the heavy snow blanket began to melt.
In politics Mr. Jenkins is a
republican.

MELVIN C.
GARRETT.

Perseverance
and diligence are the stepping stones to success, and these
characteristics, supplemented by honesty and good citizenship, are
the leading attributes possessed by the gentleman herein named.
Mr. Garrett has been a resident of Madison county, Nebraska, some
twenty-three years, and his name is closely identified with the
upbuilding of his locality, where he is a well-known hanker and
business man, and is highly respected.
Melvin C. Garrett was born in Morgan
county, Tennessee, June 15, 1859, and was fourth of five sons in
the family of Squire and Melinda Garrett, both of whom are
deceased. Mr. Garrett resided in Morgan county, until ten years of
age, when he went to Nodaway, Missouri, to live; his parents both
being deceased at that time. He lived in Missouri until twenty
years of age, and then went to Montana on a surveying expedition
for the Northern Pacific railroad for three years. He then went to
Burlington, Iowa, taking a two-year

336

COMPENDIUM OF
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commercial course in
college; and then spent one and a half years in South Dakota,
coming to Madison, Madison county, Nebraska, in October of 1887,
and since his residence here has become one of the most prominent
and active business men of his locality. He has served his county
well in the office of deputy county clerk, which he held one and
it half years, 1888-1889 and January, 1890, after which he held
the position of bookkeeper in the First National bank of Madison
one year, and then became cashier of the same bank, occupying this
position until January 1, 1909, on which date he became president
of the above named bank.
Mr. Garrett was married to Miss
Lizzie C. Miller, at West Point, Nebraska, September 18, 1890, who
is the daughter of Samuel and Catherine Miller, an old Nebraska
family of thirty years back. Mr. and Mrs. Garrett have five
children: Ralph W., Melvin M., Emma, Martha, and Catherine, all of
whom reside at home, the eldest son, Ralph W., attending the state
university.
Mr. Garrett is practically a
self-made man who has made a success of life along financial and
other lines, and is widely known. He is identified with the best
interests of his town and county along educational and social
lines. The First National bank which came into existence in August
1887, taking over the Madison County Savings bank, is one of the
solid financial institutions of Nebraska, with the following
officials: Melvin C. Garrett, president; James L. Grant, vice
president; Ed Fricke, cashier.

ISAAC W.
SANDBERG.

Isaac
W. Sandberg, a leading merchant and enterprising citizen of
Ashton, Nebraska, is an example of the success that has been
attained by many self-made men of his county and state within the
past half century. He was one of the earlier settlers of Sherman
county, being brought there by his parents at the age of fifteen
years. He was born in Sweden, April 8, 1866, a son of Samuel and
Amin C. (Anderson) Sandberg, whose eight children were all born in
that country. The father was born in 1824, and was married in
1852, bringing his wife and six children to America in 1881. They
landed in New York, August, 20th, and six days later arrived at
Grand Island, Nebraska. In September of the same year they secured
a homestead on the northeast quarter of section eight, township
fifteen, range thirteen, and the father's death occurred on this
homestead August 6, 1891. Mrs. Sandberg now lives in Ashton with
her son Isaac W. Two of their children joined them in Sherman
county in 1889.
Of the eight children born to Samuel
Sandberg, all are now living, namely: Alexander, of Howard county;
Mary, Mrs. August A.. Johnson, lives in Burt county, Nebraska ;
Alma, lives with her mother and brother in Ashton; John S., lives
in Minnesota; Amelia, Mrs. Fred Hanson, and Andretta, Mrs. Fred
Anderson, live at Dietz, Wyoming; Hannah, Mrs. John Johnson, lives
at Bellingham, Washington.
Isaac W. Sandberg lived on the
homestead until 1905, being engaged in farming and stock raising
until August of that year, when he came to Ashton and engaged in
the lumber and hardware business, the firm name now being the
Ashtoll Lumber Company, one of the most extensive establishments
of the kind in central Nebraska, and its members being well known
as business men of unquestioned integrity and reliability. Mr.
Sandberg is one of the hustling, wide-awake merchants of Ashton
and is closely identified with the progress and upbuilding of his
community. He still owns the old homestead, being one of the few
men of the present generation who own the original land secured by
them or their families from the government. He has added two
hundred acres of land to this tract by purchase and thus has a
large and well equipped grain and stock farm. He also owns eighty
acres of land within the village limits of Ashton. He has taken an
active interest in local affairs and is now serving as treasurer
of the township and village of Ashton and is a member of the town
board.
Mr. Sandberg was married, September
22, 1904, to Miss Emelen Bostrom, in Laramie, Wyoming, and they
have one child living, Darr Gordon.

FRANZ HIRSHMAN.
(Deceased.)

Among
Cedar county's most honored and substantial citizens we must not
forget to mention the venerable Franz Hirschman, now deceased. For
years he was recognized as one of the highest types of sturdy
pioneers who gave up the comforts and conveniences of the more
thickly setfled communities of the east to help populate and
develop the virgin prairies of the boundless west.
Mr. Hirschman was born Reichenberg,
Austria, February 25, 1818; he grew to manhood in his native
state, receiving the usual education, and in 1838 was united in
marriage to Miss Thekla Dawat, whose birth occurred May 19, 1829.
In 1853, Mr. and Mrs. Hirschman emigrated to America, embarking at
Bremen in a sailing vessel. After six weeks on the water they
landed at Castle Garden, New York, where their older son, three
years of age, died from the effects of sea sickness; it had been
the mother's prayer that the little one might be spared until they
reached the shore, that its little body might not be consigned to
the sea, as others had been done. The younger son died from the
same cause soon after reaching Milwaukee, their destination,
leaving them childless.
For nine years they lived in
Milwaukee, where the father was employed at his trade, a
carpenter, and then in 1862, moved to Juneau county,
Wis-

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337

consin. Here Mr.
Hirschman became a farmer and lived on his land near Mauston,
until 1872, when he followed the exodus of thrifty German citizens
who left that state and populated the eastern end of Nebraska.
They drove across the prairies of Iowa, some with oxen, some with
horse teams, camping in the open country for five weeks before
reaching Cedar county, their destination, October 22, 1872.
Mr. Hirschman had been in the county
in 1871 and filed on a homestead and later a timber claim in the
valley of the East Dow creek; this he proceeded to subdue and put
into cultivation; later he added by purchase, owning in all some
four hundred acres of land. Discouragements followed him, and for
several years the myriad swarms of grasshoppers devoured his
crops, leaving him little or nothing on which to support his
family. Provisions were scarce and hard to procure. St. James, St.
Helena, and Yankton were their nearest market towns where little
was paid for the small amount of produce they had to sell, and
high prices charged for what they, of necessity, must buy.
In 1893 Mr. Hirschman relinquished
active farm management and retired to Hartington, where the
remainder of his life was spent, he died December 11, 1896, at the
age of seventy-eight years; the wife survived until January 6,
1900, attaining the age of seventy years. Mr. Hirschman was a
life-long democrat, and with his wife and family, was a worthy
member of the Catholic church. Eleven sons were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Hirschman, of whom three died in infancy others are: Henry,
farming in East Bow valley; August J., who died in 1896 at the age
of thirty-eight; Julius, also a farmer in the valley of the East
Bow; the remaining sons reside in Hartington, and are employed as
follows: John, engaged in the sand and gravel business; Anthony, a
leading merchant; Edward B., county treasurer; Albert, retired
farmer; and Hugo H., retired merchant.
Few sires have had the satisfaction
of rearing so many worthy and substantial sons. All are it credit
to him, to the state and the nation.

JOHN M.
COLBORN.

In
presenting to the public a history of Nebraska, the list would not
be complete without having mentioned the name of this gentleman.
Mr. Colborn is one of the leading old settlers and prominent
ranchmen of Merrick county, Nebraska, having spent the past;
thirty-seven years and more on his present homestead.
John M. Colborn was born in Canada
October 28, 1853 and was third of eleven children in the family of
Abram and Mary (Comfort) Colborn. In 1854, the Colborn family of
father, mother, and sons, George and John, moved to Sauk county,
Wisconsin. John grew up on the farm in Sauk county, and in the
spring of 1874 came to Merrick county, Nebraska, taking up a
homestead on section eighteen, township fourteen, range eight, and
this has remained his home farm until this date, which makes Mr.
Colborn one of the few original pioneer homesteaders that still
reside on the old homestead. Mr. Colborn is one of three brothers
that live in this immediate neighborhood. He has a fine farm of
two hundred acres, and is a successful farmer and stockman.
Mr. Colborn was married February 19,
1880, to Miss Belle Jolla, on the Jolla farm in Merrick county.
The Jolla family is one of the pioneer families of this section of
Nebraska, having come to Merrick county in August, 1874. Mr. and
Mrs. Colborn have six children: Jessie, wife of William Green,
lives in Nance county, Nebraska; Lena, a teacher in public
schools; Edith, wife of H. E. Trout, lives in McPherson county;
Lee Jolla, Mark S., and Susie. They are a family who are prominent
in social and educational circles.
Mr. Colborn takes a deep interest in
local affairs, and was a member of the county board in 1908 and
1909.

J. H. MENKENS.

Mr.
J. H. Menkins, a prominent farmer and stockman, living on section
five, township twenty-eight, range eight, is well known throughout
Knox county. He has made this vicinity his home for the past
eleven years, and during that time has done much to aid in the
development of the region.
Mr. Menkens is a native of Oldenburg
Village, province of Oldenburg, Germany, and was born in 1857. He
grew up in his native land, procuring a limited education, and
worked at farming until leaving home in 1875, bound for the new
world. He embarked at Bremen on the steamship "Ohio," and landed
in Baltimore after a rather tedious voyage, coming directly across
the states to Nebraska, and locating in Cumings county, where he
remained up to 1892. He farmed during that time, and passed
through the usual discouragements that came to the early settlers
in the section, but made it his home for about fifteen years. He
then removed to Madison county and was engaged in running for
eight years.
In March, 1900, he came to Knox
county, and purchased the place which he now occupies, known as
the John Hamm claim. This he has put in the finest possible shape,
and it is proving one of the best producing farms in the county.
Mr. Menkens is devoting his entire time to its management, and is
raising considerable livestock, as well its grain, ete. He had
been here in 1882, and filed on a tree claim, but later gave it
up.
Mr. Menkens was married in Cumings
eounty to Miss Dora Wenck, July 8, 1891. Mrs. Menkens is a native
of Germany. They have one child, Anna, now living at
home.

338

COMPENDIUM OF
HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

CHARLES
E. CLEAVLAND.

The
gentleman above mentioned, who was an old-time resident of Nance
county, Nebraska, owned and occupied a comfortable home in
Belgrade, and was a substantial and worthy citizen of his
Community.
Charles E. Cleavland is a native of
Michigan, born in Branch county, September 16, 1845, and was the
youngest of three children born to Solomon and Mary Cleavland, the
former dying when Charles was a babe two weeks old. The mother
moved to Ionia county with her little family, and then to Cass
county, Michigan, in 1851, where our subject grew up and was
educated. He was married in Jackson county, on April 11, 1866, to
Victoria J. Smith, and the young couple followed farming in
Michigan for a number of years. Three children were born of the
marriage: Anna Jane, now the widow of Frank Hodges; Milton, of
Liverpool. Texas, and Ellen M., who died in California when seven
months old.
On May 14. 1883, Mr. Cleavland
landed in Nance county, Nebraska, settled on a pre-emption claim,
and started in the farming and stock raising business, being
joined by his children several years later. He later engaged in
the poultry business making a success of it.
Mr. Cleavland is a veteran of the
civil war, enlisting in Company A, Twelfth Michigan Infantry, on
January 25, 1862, and was discharged from service three years
later to the exact date, at Duval's Bluff, Arkansas. During his
career its a soldier he took active part in the battle of Shiloh,
Pittsburg Landing, was at the Siege of Vickshurg and fall of that
city, also in numerous minor battles and skirmishes.
On September 7, 1885, Mr. Cleavland
was married the second time, to Miss Rachel Gibson, the ceremony
taking place in Nance county. During the early years Mr. Cleavland
served as justice of the peace in Nance county, and had the
distinction of being the first to hold that office in Branch
township. In the fall of 1909, Mr. Cleavland sold his property in
Belgrade and. moved to Liverpool, Texas, where he remained until
February, 1911, then going to Stephens, Arkansas, where he had
previously purchased a farm, and on which he now lives.

ARCHIBALD
WALRATH.

Among
the prominent old settlers who early settled in Nebraska, may be
mentioned Archibald Walrath now of Atkinson, who first located in
Holt county. He has been a continuous resident of Atkinson since
1885, first coming there in search of a climate that, would
benefit his wife, who was an invalid. He rented a house the first
year and both he and his wife spent much of their time in the
open, hunting or fishing, and it was found that the climate and
outdoor life was working wonders for Mrs. Walrath, who recuperated
her strength rapidly, gaining twenty-five pounds in three months.
He then purchased four and two-thirds acres of land in the eastern
part of the town. He sold an acre and a third, and on the
remainder began gardening on a large scale and planted berries and
fruits. One year he and his son, who was a partner in the
business, shipped sixteen thousand eight hundred and fifty quarts
of strawberries from a two-acre patch. fifty pickers helping them
to prepare the fruits for market. They at one time picked four
bushels of cherries from it single tree, and have had black
raspberries, currants, Siberian crab-apples and other good things
in like proportion. Mr. Walrath erected an elaborate irrigating
plant, thereby assuring himself a supply of water, while, others
lost their crop or a large part of it through depending on the
natural moisture of the season, which is smetimes [sic]
deficient.
During the winter months Mr. Walrath
was always in demand to help in the various meat markets of the
town, securing larger wages than ordinarily given for this kind of
service, and one prospective buyer of a market made the deal on
condition that Mr. Walrath would take charge. August 1, 1906, he
opened a market with his own capital, and with his son has
conducted a very successful business enterprise since that time.
Besides keeping a supply of all kinds of meats, they have the
largest variety of excellent fruits of any store in Atkinson,
together with celery and other relishes. It is regarded as one of
the best stocked and equipped markets in that part, of the
state.
Mr. Walrath was born at Ingham's
Mills, Herkimer county, New York, December 4, 1840. His father,
Archibald Walrath, senior, attained the age of ninety-two years.
The house in which he was born is still in the possession of the
family, being owned by one of the sons, who also owns the farm of
one hundred acres of land, and has lived there upwards of eighty
years. The mother, who was Lucinda Hose, born May 22, 1803, lived
over a century and read without glasses. At the age of one hundred
years she wrote a letter to her son at Atkinson, it truly
remarkable achievement. Her death occurred February 22, 1911. Her
father, Henry Hose, attained the age of seventy-five years, and
her mother ninety-eight years. Mr. Watrath's paternal grandfather
also reached the age of ninety-eight years and the grandmother
eighty-eight years. Considering the present rugged health of Mr.
Walrath he may well be expected to rival his ancestors in the age
he reaches.
Upon nearing his majority Mr.
Walrath learned the trade of blacksmith at Little Falls, near his
home, and was at work there when war broke out. He enlisted August
23, 1860, in Company A, one Hundred and Twenty-first New York
Volunteers under Colonel Upton, who later became famous as the
formulator of the military tactics that bear his name. Mr. Watrath
received his baptisin of fire at the second battle of Bull Run
and